This spreadsheet is the underlying data for the biodiversity indicator B1a, Area of land in agri-environment schemes.
Agriculture is a major land use in the UK, and rapid changes to agricultural practice in the past have been linked to declines in wildlife, such as farmland birds. Since 1987 a number of voluntary agri-environment schemes have been introduced that provide payments to farmers to protect and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and historic features, and to promote public access.
There are two main types of agri-environment scheme in the UK:
- Entry-level type, whole-farm schemes that have a simple set of prescriptions providing basic environmental protection and enhancement, where the whole farm area contributes to the indicator; and
- Higher-level or targeted schemes that protect or restore land, focusing on parts of the farm or land-holding that are of high environmental/biodiversity value or potential.
This is one of a suite of 24 UK biodiversity indicators published by JNCC on behalf of Defra; the latest publication date was 19 January 2016 - for indicator B1a the latest data are for 2014.
